Added£0.99Add to basket(A short story of 1608 words)
Platform Souls
Crime and Thrillers Literary
by Colette Coen
A woman waits for her friend on a station concourse even though she knows she will never arrive. Winner of the 2012 Waterstones' Crime in the City Competition
The four faces of the old Central Station clock seemed to be suspended in time as well as from the roof; the dark hands stuck agonisingly a few minutes short of eight.
‘You got the time?’
Laura turned and looked at the guy standing in front of her.
‘You’re standing under a clock,’ she said, not even trying to mask the disdain in her voice. ‘Look up.’
‘That’s no whit am asking, hen,’ he said. He reached out to touch her arm but his aim was off and he staggered slightly before regaining his balance. A couple of drinks after work turned into a bender, she knew that story.
‘You got the time?’ He raised his eyebrows, gave her a sleekit grin. Two girls beside her laughed. It was alright for them, safety in numbers, not vulnerable like her. ‘Piss off,’ Laura said. Then she turned to the other girls and laughed too. That always got them. He slinked away, just another tosser in a suit that didn’t fit any more...
The four faces of the old Central Station clock seemed to be suspended in time as well as from the roof; the dark hands stuck agonisingly a few minutes short of eight.
‘You got the time?’
Laura turned and looked at the guy standing in front of her.
‘You’re standing under a clock,’ she said, not even trying to mask the disdain in her voice. ‘Look up.’
‘That’s no whit am asking, hen,’ he said. He reached out to touch her arm but his aim was off and he staggered slightly before regaining his balance. A couple of drinks after work turned into a bender, she knew that story.
‘You got the time?’ He raised his eyebrows, gave her a sleekit grin. Two girls beside her laughed. It was alright for them, safety in numbers, not vulnerable like her. ‘Piss off,’ Laura said. Then she turned to the other girls and laughed too. That always got them. He slinked away, just another tosser in a suit that didn’t fit any more...